Subway Poster Offal

Crazy Train

I am very aware and wary of people who seem a bit "off" when I am riding the subway, and not just because of being in NYC during 9/11. When Colin Ferguson shot several people on the Long Island Railroad in 1993, I had just moved to NYC, and I was shaken by the seemingly random act of someone whom eyewitnesses later say was acting strangely in the minutes leading up to his massacre (he killed six people and wounded 19). Of course, it is hard to foresee when someone finally cracks and decides to do bodily harm to another human being (the guy on the Greyhound Bus in Canada, or the one in Beijing, or Virginia Tech, or Columbine...etcetera, etcetera), but yes, I remain vigilant when I spot someone who seems cagey. I don't know what I would do if something actually happened, but I practice little scenarios in my head. Does that make me crazy? Or prepared? If I see something, when is the right time to say something?

Mostly, I end up witnessing gross dudes who are self-pleasuring. Gack. But this guy on the train kept mouthing the same phrase or prayer or mantra or comforting words to himself for the length of the trip. I watched his lips, it was the same five or six words, and I tried to figure out what words by lip-reading, but I failed, because I am not good at lip-reading. I had to get out my camera and film him, and I feel weird about this, but I keep thinking, in these instances, that it would be good to have something recorded in case he lost it and lashed out. He was probably memorizing lines, or singing a song to himself, or is just affected with OCD and needs to say something to himself 475 times before he can get off the train. Who knows.

When I look at this video now, I think, why the hell was I so aware of him...but I've learned to just listen to my gut at times. Intuition is a kooky thing. So is paranoia. I've probably been living in New York City too long. This is why people have summer houses. Oh, right, I can't afford a summer house. This is what happens when people live on top of one another for a long, long time.

Welcome to my world.

Damn Wide-leggin' Jarks

Gothamist has a blurb on this today: Facebook has a group called Close Your Damn Legs On The Subway So I Can Sit Down Already!!! : http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18074294688&ref=share

And I copied the subway gorilla-man picture from the blog http://www.secondavenuesagas.com/ ,

which got the picture here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/strohchop/436545886/.

Now I want more pictures of the asses who insist on spreading their man legs wider than their junk necessitates. Arrrrgh.